The decision of the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) to raise the dollar price will raise computer prices in the coming period, said head of the general division of the Computer and Software at the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Commerce Khalil Hassan Khalil.

Khalil attributed this projected increase to the possibility of the dollar price rising in the informal market, given the lack of dollars in banks, which pushes importers to resort to unofficial paths to find foreign currency.

The Egyptian market imports 600,000 to 700,000 computer devices annually, according to Khalil.

CBE decided on Monday morning to increase the price of the dollar against the pound to EGP 8.95, which was previously valued at EGP 7.83.

CEO of Beta Technology Hatem Hassan believes that CBE’s decision to increase the dollar price against the pound should be followed by several other decisions in order to guarantee that the price will not increase in the informal market.

CBE must pump dollars into the market through exceptional bids until it has a firm grip on the price of the dollar and can limit the chances of the price increasing in the parallel market, said Hassan.

He predicted an increase in product prices in the IT sector during the coming period, especially as the majority of the sector’s needs are imported.

HTC and Lenovo’s exclusive agent and marketing director of JoVi Tronix in Egypt Tarek Abdel Mohsen said the company is currently studying the implications of the increased price on the market to discuss increasing their products’ prices. A final decision will be made within a month.

General Manager of Dell Egypt Hashem Mansy believes that CBE’s decision is normal, as most currencies fell against the dollar in the last period.

According to Mansy, CBE’s decision will not adversely affect the IT sector’s investment, but its effects may be positive if dollars were provided to investors, if the dollar price is stabilised, and if dollar transfers abroad are allowed. This would guarantee investors with the possibility of transferring their profits.